Marikana widows want BASF to admit its complicity as part of the platinum supply chain. The extractive sector in post-apartheid South Africa remains a hotbed of labour and environmental exploitation, with people still working underground in unsafe, unhealthy conditions. Mining communities continue to be excluded from having a fair share of the wealth accumulated from…

BASF is a huge corporate that gives Lonmin a lot of business. Today, April 29, in Germany they are gathered for their annual shareholder meeting. Along with the usual shareholders who attend these meetings there’ll be some less familiar faces, two of the women made widows by the Marikana massacre. Thirty-four miners brutally gunned down…

A bold campaign has been launched by Gun Free South Africa and amandla.mobi calling on the minister of police, Nkosinathi Nhleko, and National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega to disarm the police’s crowd-control units of their deadly R5 rifles. The R5 assault rifle is based on the Israeli Galil, which was inspired by the AK-47. It…

To evidence the “unsustainability” of social grants, it is often pointed out that in South Africa “there are only five million tax-paying citizens and 15-million social grants recipients”. The insinuation made is that the five million single-handedly subsidise the poor, thus bearing the brunt of the social assistance burden. This argument, however, ignores that income…

Acting on the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), in 2003 the President’s Fund was set up to provide comprehensive reparations programmes for victims of apartheid crimes. It was intended to restore and repair the damaged lives of those who stood for justice against the apartheid regime. This was to be done through…

To commemorate the brave stance taken by the youth of 1976, the month of June is dedicated as youth month to celebrate young people in the country — with June 16 used to commemorate the youth of 1976. This year’s celebrations were particularly notable, as South Africa celebrates its 20th year of democracy. The month…

When Oscar Pistorius first entered the courtroom where he stood accused of murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, the case raised great interest. It was followed online, on radio and even watched on TV, where it received a lot of coverage. While some see the spotlight put on gun ownership by the trial as nothing but…

“Mandela is dead”, these are the words that came out of my mouth the moment Radio 702 presenter Gushwell Brooks informed listeners that Jacob Zuma had an announcement of national importance to make. My sensible and realistic nature overtook me; the man was 95 after all. He had lived a full life, so to me…

Thapelo Tselapedi recently wrote about how “black stories are in the form of service delivery protests, which are characterised by angry mobs stealing electricity, invading lands and tossing poo”. He goes on to share many other ways in which black stories are warped and twisted, noting that: “Such stories don’t engage black politics in any…

During ‘Youth Month’, I was invited as a panellist to the Activate! Exchange hosted in Johannesburg. ‘Being heard’ was a recurring theme in the earlier break-away sessions, so during panel discussions I pointed out that there’s a danger in demanding to be heard ‘out there’ when we ourselves are failing to listen to each other….